San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1887-04-07

demon drink? We answer, the moderate
drinkers" OF our land, and who then NIL
the ranks Of the moderate drinkersy''
Why, the young men and boys who indulge
in the social (O glass. :,
Drink affects not only the ignorant and
unlearned, but history shows us that some
Of the banicst men OF the world
have yielded TO this terrible fascination,and
thus been ruined. II has been stated ON
good authorityof Andrew Johnson's stan
while Governor of Tennessee, that Zone
son died while drunk in 1868. Anoth-
er son died Of deirium tremens IN 1868
COL Morrow shot himself in San Francisco
while under the influence Of drink. Col.
Browning died of tremeps In 1866. Lient.
Lindsay shot himself in his fathers parlor,
in 1885, after long spree. Col. Long, who
WINS on his staff while President, drowned
himself by jumping from ferry boat"
| Now let us look ut some of onr literary
men. Coleridge was such q slave to liquor
that he was once kept an unwilling prisoner
by Christopher North on an occasion when
some literary performances had to be COM
pleted by certain time, and, on that very
day, without taking leave of the family, ran
| off at full speed down the avenue where, in
some obscure den he was soon drinking
among low companions, his brilliant mind
/ brought to level with the vilest of the vile.
When his spree was over he would return to
the society of decent men.
No one can think without an irrepressible
regret of the last days of our own Poe. He
was on his way to marry n confding woman
and stopped in Baltimore, and was found 10y
n gentleman who knew him in state OF
benstly intoxication, unconscious as stone,
and died that night in tho rawlings OF de-
! lirium tremens,
or other victims of this terrible habit, we
will mention Burns, Byron, Lamb and
Douglass j errold. Rollin says that the true
position that brought Alexander the Grent
to his end was wine.
sam my brothers keeper" was asked
by the first murderer the world ever knew,
and it is asked 10y scores today when they
are approached on the subject Of temperance.
There are sins of omission as well rs sins OF
commission.
The man who stands idly by and permits
a saloon to be established right in his midst
without making any effort to prevent IT,
when he knows that 1t will ruin the hohies
of many, blast their lives and destroy their
souls. il guilty of the SIN OF omisslon-he
omitted to do his duty, whereby he could
have saved his neighbor "Woe unto him
that giveth his neighbor drink. :,
We would ask, Who will solve this whis-
ky problemp Will high license do itf For
more than century the attempt has been
made to regulate this traffic by the license
system. The most conspicuous feature OF
tb;o ovneriment has been its failure ''In
1928 the amount of liquor consumed in this
country was but two aud one half gallons
per capita. To-day it is fourteen gallons
for every man. woman, child and baby i'll
the United States, Notwithstanding our
great increase in population both by birth
and by foreign emigration"
One of the popular arguments in favor OF
high license is the revenue it brings into the
public treasury. Let us look at this side OF
| the question: ''The cost of the whisky
traffit to the city of New York for Jne year
was So, 100. 600 The revenue derived from
/ license was 5000 600, thus showing clear
loss to the taxpayer of $4,GOO, 600" The
report of the Superintendent of the Peni-
tontiary of Texas for 1880 reveals the fact
that of 2, III men in the State prison, l172
were sent there by intoxicating liquors; that
is, rs 1772 is to 3t5 so is whisky ms pro.
Queer of crime To all other evils combined"
Where is the revenue from license after
all the cost of conycting and sending these
men to the penitentiary is met? This is
like putting water in with fork and taking
it out in bucket in the hope of filling your
vessel"
But let us allow that the license revenue
is clear gain to the treasures OF our nation.
Who but Judas would want to sell the
souls of his fellow beings in this way? Who
wants our Golfers filed with blood money!
WOE to him that buildeth town with
blood and establsheth city by inlqulty."
"Woe to him that coveteth an evil covet-
business to his house, that he may set his
nest on high"
Again we ask, Who will solve this prob
lemp Will politicians do it? IL is always
safe plan to Judge the future by the past
What have politicians done toward checking
this evil? NoTHNG-yes, worse than moth
ing, for they have encouraged 1t by both
precept aud example. :,
The solution Of this problem depend
largely upon the Christian people of our
land Then let all show their colors
MANY even among those who profess to be
Christians manifest an almost criminal in
difference on this subject.
Some of them indulge in the social ~
glass. and even frequent saloons. Obser-
vation teaches us that this class take no ac-
tive part in church work. They are not
found in the prayer-meetiug; neither are
thew found in the Sund ly-scbool. Their
piety is at n very low ebb They are fond
of quoting Paul's advice to Timothy: To
take a little vine for thy stomach's sake"
They are not M honest as the Irishmnn who
had signed the pledge. and when reminded
of this passage. replied: "My name is not
Timothy, aud iheie is nothing the matter
with my stomach"
When our Christian people learn TO vote
for principle, and not for party; when they
learn TO be less afraid Of hurting the feel
ings OF the candidate. and more afraid OF
hurting the kingdom Of Christ. then we may
look for a speedy solution Of this problem.